


4 Holiday Ficlets

by callmeonetrack



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Crack, F/M, Fluff, Holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 11:59:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9383993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callmeonetrack/pseuds/callmeonetrack
Summary: Kara and Lee celebrate Christmas (or solstice). With bonus graphics!





	

**Easy Like Sunday Morning**

Kara woke up with a start early Sunday Morning to the sound of a hatch clanging shut. Her head rang at the noise and she groaned. As she blinked sleep away, she suddenly became very aware of three things:

1) She had a blinding hangover  
2) She had no clothes on.  
3) She had a rackmate.

Kara rolled her head to the right to find a pair of familiar blue eyes staring at her.

"Hey."

She gulped. "Did we...?"

He blushed. "I'm pretty sure we did."

Kara stared at the underside of the bunk above her. It was weird. Over the years, she'd come to assume that it would take mountains moving and rivers parting before she and Lee would ever actually do the deed. And that once they did, well, surely there'd be recriminations, guilt, blame.... _angst_.

In her wildest imaginings, Kara would never have thought it could take anything quite so simple as a holiday party and a few too many glasses of Hot Dog's "special" ambrosia-spiked egg nog.

The mundanity of it all tickled her, and a blurble of laughter slipped out. And then suddenly she couldn't stop.

Lee slung an arm around her waist and dragged her closer, pressing himself to her and whispering, "You know, hysterical laughter isn't exactly the preferred response in this particular scenario, Lieutenant. Way to shrink a guy's ego."

Kara caught her breath and turned, grinning as she slipped a hand down between their bodies. "Yeah?" She wrapped her fingers around the stiff length enthusiastically prodding her thigh and squeezed. "Well, it's a good thing it's only your ego, then, _sir_."

Lee winked and tightened his arm around Kara, rolling them so he was under her. They spent the next hour doing everything they couldn't quite remember doing the night before. And then some.

When they finally hauled themselves out of her rack and went in search of food, they entered the mess hall to a round of applause and catcalls. They froze for a second, just looking at each other, and then Lee just shrugged, and threaded his hand through Kara's, pulling her over to a table of their fellow pilots.

Helo grinned hello, a cigar clamped in his mouth and clapped Lee on the shoulder, as Kara eyed him suspiciously. "Hey, where'd the cigar come from?" She'd gone on an extensive search of the fleet not too long ago looking for any remaining boxes herself and came up short.

"The Commander."

Kara's eyebrow raised. She knew for a fact the Old Man had given her his last cigar after she brought the raider back. Her eyes scanned the room quickly, and she noticed, two, three, four...other pilots smoking cigars. "Where'd he find..." Then her eyes widened, as she realized the only place a stash of cigars like this could have been waiting, and she laughed, long and loud.

Lee nudged her, his expression quizzical. "What's so funny this time?"

Kara grinned. "Let's just say, I think your dad seriously owes us one, Apollo."

 **Good Things Come in Small Packages...**

Lee Adama blinked, then shook his head as he refocused blurry eyes on the paperwork he was completing. Two more requisition forms and he'd be able to take advantage of the relatively empty bunkroom and get some quality rack time. 

It would be much appreciated. They'd been pulling double shifts, even triple shifts on occasion, and catching a nap in peace and quiet was a rare luxury. Lee capped the pen he was using and looked up with a frown. Speaking of peace and quiet...he thought, his eyes sliding to where Kara was sitting at the other end of the metal table, scribbling something on a sheet of paper. She was also humming. There was something familiar about the low tune and he listened for a minute, as Kara wrote on, oblivious to the world. 

Sleep, he decided, was overrated. This was too good a chance to pass up.

Lee got out of his chair quietly and snuck around the table, coming up behind Kara soundlessly. She didn't move or show any signs of awareness he was even there. Lee grinned and bent over her shoulder. 

"Whatcha doing, Lieutenant?"

Kara jumped, slamming a hand down instantly on the paper she'd been hunched over. "My Gods, Lee," she hissed. "Creeper much? Maybe I should tie a bell on you?"

The first response that came to mind--about the last time Kara decided they should play bondage games--died on the tip of his tongue as Lee's gaze flitted over to where Joker stretched out on an upper bunk at the far end of the room. Frat regs had been relaxed a long time ago, but some things were better off kept quiet. "Hey don't blame me! You were awfully caught up in whatever it is you're writing there." He squinted at the paper and Kara put her other hand on top of it to block it from his prying eyes. "So what are you writing there?"

"None of your business," Kara said hastily.

He grinned and twisted his head to lock eyes with her. "I am your CAG." Lee paused and winked, his voice lowering to a decibel for Kara's ears only. "I could _make it_ my business." 

Kara raised a brow, her eyes flashing at the challenge and she smirked, the quirk of her lips promising danger later. "Well, _sir_ , when you put it that way..." she shrugged. "If you must know, I'm making a list."

"A list?" 

"Uh, huh." She grinned. "Checking it twice too."

The words rang a bell somewhere in Lee's head, and he suddenly remembered the familiar tune Kara had been humming. It was a Caprican Winter Solstice carol based on a myth of an old man who brought presents to good boys and girls to honor the change of the calendar year. Lee did some quick math in his head. Could it really be Solstice time already? He supposed it could.

His eyes darted to the paper under Kara's hand, but she caught him looking and slid it further away, her hands still covering most of her handwriting.

"Hey! No peeking!" 

"You know, all Air Group-related paperwork is supposed to be approved by the CAG. I could insist you show it to me." 

Kara glared at him and pouted. "Fine, fine. If you're gonna be like that about it, then here." She slid the paper over to him. "But you can't blame me if you spoil all your surprises."

He paused for a minute, but his curiosity got the better of him and Lee grabbed the paper. In Starbuck's loopy, near illegible handwriting, he saw a short list of names and some scribbles next to them. 

_Solstice Gift Ideas_

_Cmmdr. Adama ~  cigars, pieces for model ship, mystery novels_

_Helo ~ sparring gloves, baby blanket, sketch of him on Caprica_

They were pretty good, Lee had to admit. He wondered where Kara expected to get some of these things and if perhaps the rumors he'd heard of a Black Market existing in the civilian fleet had been true. He was just about to ask her that very question when his eyes dipped lower and stopped. 

_Lee ~ T-shirt_

That was it, just the one word. 

"You're getting me a T-shirt?" 

Kara nodded, grinning. Lee tried not to feel underwhelmed. 

He failed.

"Seriously Kara? A T-shirt? I mean, I know it's the end of the worlds and all, but I can get a T-shirt from the quartermaster anytime--"

"Not this one," Kara interrupted, insistent. "This one's special." 

Lee smiled faintly, still feeling wounded. It must have shown on his face, because Kara laughed and said, "Hey, it could be worse."

He looked at her, eyebrows raised expectantly. Kara was the picture of wide-eyed innocence as she answered, very very loudly, "I could change it to 'one jar of stick-removal lubricant to be applied liberally to Captain Adama's tight a--' "

She was already cracking up by the time he grabbed her and lifted, carrying his squealing star pilot over to his rack and dropping her on it. Lee climbed in after her and pulled the curtain shut. Frak Joker. And frak sleeping. 

He'd be spending his down time in a way certain to earn himself a spot on Kara's Naughty List. 

Maybe then he'd get a better present. 

***

_Three weeks later..._

Lee had forgotten all about the Solstice once again when he walked into the bunkroom after his CAP shift and found a small lumpy bundle wrapped in a bunch of his old briefings waiting on his rack.  He picked it up and tore off the wrapper to see his gift.     

As he held up the T-shirt with a grin, shaking his head, a note fluttered out from its folds and landed on his rack. Lee laid the shirt aside and picked up the small square of paper. It read:

_Should we make it official?_

_Happy Solstice Lee,  
~K.  xoxo_

**The Gift That Keeps Giving**

"Lee!" Kara's voice called from the front hallway, a hint of mischief in her tone that had Lee raising his eyebrows. She came bursting into the living room, a small brown-papered box in her hands.

"You got a package!" She grinned widely, singsonging the words. "From your mo-o-om!"

Lee grimaced. "Oh no. Really? Another one?"

His mother had a new hobby. After more than a decade battling the disease, Caroline Adama had checked in to a treatment clinic for alcoholism earlier this year. Lee had been thrilled and relieved that she was finally getting help. Unfortunately, one of the prescriptions for her recovery brought a bit less joy to his world. Her therapist had suggested she take up a pastime that would keep her hands too busy to reach for a drink, and Caroline had taken to knitting with an abundant passion.

Passion, and sadly, very little talent.

Kara shoved the box into his lap and climbed onto the sofa next to him, practically bouncing.

"C'mon open it! I want to see." She was already giggling, even as she choked out the words, “How bad can it be?”

He paused from ripping the paper away. “Do you not remember the last one? The sweater with the reindeers on it that looked more like anteaters?” Which hadn’t even been the real problem. The sweater hadn’t even reached his navel. Caroline had a bit of a problem with proportions. Lee’s drawer was filled with garments, every one of them too big, too small, too wide, too something.

Kara smirked. “Aw, I thought you looked kind of cute in that. Well, it can’t be any worse than that one, right?” She nudged his arm and he rolled his eyes and went back to opening the package. After he wrestled his way through the fifteen layers of tape holding the box closed, he lifted the lid off and stared inside.

“Hey, that one doesn’t look too bad!” Kara said, peering over his shoulder. Slowly, with a modicum of hope, Lee eyed the fluffy woolen mass. There was a big round, dark navy pompom at the end of what looked to be a folded multicolored rectangle. “A scarf?” Kara interjected, stealing his thoughts. “That’s actually pretty good. I mean, how can she screw up….”

Her words trailed off as Lee lifted the scarf out of the box. And lifted. And…lifted. He kept going, more and more fabric just spooling out like he was a magician pulling a silk cloth out of a hat. Finally he reached the other end, punctuated with another huge pompom. For a moment, he just held it in his hand, still a bit stupefied by the pile of knitted fabric pooled at his feet.

Kara stared at him, her eyes huge, and then she dissolved into laughter, huge cackles as she fell back against the couch, gasping to catch her breath. Lee shook his head and hooked one end of the scarf over his shoulder and started reeling in the rest, looping it around his neck. “Gods, does she actually think I’m seven feet tall? I could drown in this!”

Kara climbed off the couch and walked over to him, grabbing the free end he was still reeling in and wrapping it around her own shoulders, then huddling up close to him, her lips grazing up the side of his neck as she murmured. “Oh stop bitching. She just wants to make sure her baby boy is all bundled up for winter.” Kara rolled her eyes a little at Caroline’s overprotective impulses and pecked his lips, then she spun away.

“Besides,” she added, surveying him from a few steps away, “I don’t know. I kind of like this one.” She grinned, snagging the ends of the scarf suddenly and spinning behind Lee, looping the fabric quickly around his arms, binding them together and rendering him immobile. Lee protested and Kara leaned forward, laughing lightly and murmuring huskily in his ear. “It’s already giving me plenty of creative ideas of how we can make sure to stay warm this winter.”

Lee grinned at the words, his pulse quickening in anticipation. He wondered briefly if the scarf was long enough to wrap all the way around their four-poster bed. He wasn’t quite sure, but he knew they’d definitely have some fun finding out.

**A Christmas Miracle**

As the movie's end credits roll, Lee stifles a groan and takes another sip of his beer.

"I love that movie," Zak sighs. Kara looks at Lee and they both roll their eyes.

"What?" He asks, eyes wide. "It's the best Christmas movie! And Maureen O'Hara is a fox." 

"Oh, you have a thing for redheads now, huh?" Kara says, her voice dropping low. "I'll have to remember that." She climbs into his brother's lap and Lee looks away quickly, reaching for a Christmas cookie and shoving it whole into his mouth. He chews as loudly as possible, but still hears the unmistakable smack of their lips meeting. Lee wishes the floor would open up and swallow him whole.

He should be used to this by now, but somehow it's like a gut punch every time. At the beginning of the summer, Lee finished his tour on the USS Valkyrie and came home, only to find that his brother had a new girlfriend--who just happened to be the most infuriating, bewildering, and utterly captivating woman Lee had ever met. He's not sure if the past six months have been the worst or the best of his life.

"I think we're embarrassing your brother," he hears Kara stage whisper and flushes. He didn't realize he was being so damn obvious. Lee thinks of the decision he made earlier today and knows he made the right choice.

"I should get going anyway," he says, and gets to his feet.

They both protest, and Kara hops up and strides over to him, grabbing his arm. "You can't leave me!" He makes the mistake of looking into her eyes, which sparkle green in the reflected light from the Christmas tree. She grins conspiratorially and leans closer, and Lee gets a whiff of sugar and beer and _Kara_ , and his breath catches. "He'll probably make me sing carols or some shit, next."

"God, the two of you are such Scrooges!" Zak exclaims, setting his own bottle down on the coffee table and throwing his arms wide. "Where is your holiday spirit, huh?

 “Christmas is overrated.”

 "Oh come on, it's like the movie says!” He cries earnestly. “You have to believe or your wishes won't come true." 

 "Well, that's nothing new," Lee can't help grumbling under his breath.

 "Bro, you are such a killjoy when it comes to the holidays!" 

 "Because it's all cornball crap!” Lee explodes finally. “You've made me watch these movies every year since we were kids and--"

 "It's tradition!" Zak crows.

 "--AND," Lee continues "they're bullshit. I mean, they're all nice fantasies, about how Christmas should be about more than commercialism and how if you just wish hard enough, angels will get their wings, and all this stuff. And the reality is all this illusion just makes people feel worse."

 "Yup," Kara chirps. "Suicides are highest in December, you know." She winks at Lee.

 "That's a myth!"

 "And you have to battle twice the normal amount of traffic to get anywhere."

 Kara stretches a hand out to snag a cookie off the plate. "And all these sweets make you get fat!"

 "Oh come on!" Zak exclaims. "I mean, I expect this of Lee, he's always been all _Bah Humbug!_ about the holidays. But, _et tu_ , Kara?"

 She frowns, her face taking on a stubborn cast. "Yeah, well, Christmas at my house wasn't exactly a cheery occasion." Lee cuts his eyes at her, surprised at the bitter tone. Kara never mentions her family.

 But Zak's on a roll now. "Kara, you know what this cold-hearted bastard did? When I was 8, Lee--he was 13--he sits me down Christmas Eve day, all serious, and he goes 'Zak, you're old enough now. I think you need to know: Santa isn't real!'", he hoots a laugh. "Man, I cried all night long! Do you remember that Lee?"

 "Oh, I remember," Lee swallows hard, anger building. "I remember that mom was so damn drunk all the time that year that she never left the house. And I remember wondering what the heck was gonna happen when you woke up Christmas morning and there were no presents under the tree."

His voice is loud and harsh, rough with emotion, and his words echo a little in the following silence. But Kara's hand is still on his arm, and her fingers squeeze tightly once before her hand drops away. He catches her eyes, and the sympathy and understanding in them makes his heart clench.

 "I- I didn't know that. You never told me that." Zak frowns and stands up, confusion wrinkling his brow. "But, there was... that sled I wanted. It was there." Recognition dawns on his face. "You bought it, didn't you? And I thought you didn't get anything because Mom was punishing you." 

 Lee shrugs, embarrassed again, his anger faded now. "You're my little brother. It's my job to protect you." It is, and it always will be. That's why he has to do this now.

 "Anyway, I really should go." He turns and quickly grabs his jacket off the back of the couch. 

 "Lee, stay. C'mon, we don't have to watch Christmas movies, we'll put the game on or something."

 "Can't. I, uh, I have to go for fitness re-qualification in the morning."

 "Fitness Requals?" Kara echoes, her eyes wide. "You got another tour?"

 "Wait," Zak says, "But you're Reserves. Why the hell would--"

 "I volunteered." Lee says slowly, his gaze sliding from his brother's eyes back to Kara's. Her mouth is stretched into a perfectly surprised "O" and Lee takes a breath, looking for something in her face that he has no right at all to look for.

 "Why?" She says, in this breathless hurt tone, and then she shakes her head, her voice growing stronger. "I mean, you swore you were done after the Valkyrie."

"Yeah, I know," Lee forces a smile and a chuckle. "Guess you had me pegged after all. Career military. Guys like me never leave the service, right?"

She told him that the night they met. There's a twisted irony that she's the reason it came true.

"When do you leave?" Zak asks quietly.

"Two days after Christmas." 

"That's less than a week." Zak whistles. "Afghanistan, again?"

Lee shrugs. "Germany first, then... who knows?"

An awkward silence falls. They're both just staring at him and then Zak steps forward and pulls him into a hug. "Hey, I'm sorry. About the Christmas thing," he whispers. 

Lee closes his eyes and hugs his brother back. "Forget it," he answers, then, "Me too."

They step apart and Lee smiles. "So, I'll see you guys at Mom's Christmas Eve, right?"

 Zak says "Yeah," and Kara nods. Lee shrugs his jacket on and waves to Kara. She nods again, eyes still wide, and he turns and slips out the door.

When it shuts behind him, Lee takes a deep breath. He's doing the right thing here, he tells himself. It's his job to protect his brother. He starts walking.

 As he reaches the end of the corridor, a door slams behind him and then he hears Kara calling his name. "Lee, wait!"

 He stops, almost afraid to turn, but he does. She takes a few steps to catch up to him, the red scarf he forgot that he grabbed when he left his apartment twisted in her hands. "You left this," she says, breathless.

 "Thanks." He reaches out and grasps the scarf, but Kara doesn't let go of it. He raises an eyebrow.

 "Is it me?" she asks, her tone hesitant and hushed. "Did you-- Are you leaving because of me?" Her face twists in consternation, her teeth twisting her lower lip. 

 He starts to shake his head, excuses about wanting a change of pace and how good it'll feel to fly again crowding his tongue. But what he says, weakly, is, "He''s my brother." Lee flinches and swallows hard, the rest slow but determined. "And it's my job."

 Kara's lips part soundlessly, her eyes still locked on his, and then she pulls at the fabric they're holding, twining her hands in the scarf until Lee is tugged closer. Close enough to feel her breath against his face. She wets her lips, her tongue gliding across the seam of her mouth, and a sick sense of anticipation twists his gut into knots. Then Kara leans in, tilts her head and presses her lips to his.

 Her mouth is impossibly soft, softer than he expected, than he remembers from that brief drunken mistake they almost made the night they met. And hunger overwhelms him. He lets go of the scarf, raising his hands to cup her face, and Kara's hands raise too. He feels the soft wool of the scarf, still wrapped around her fingers, against his cheek, and then she deepens the kiss, sliding her tongue into his mouth, and he's lost.

 Lee gets thoroughly lost in the taste of Kara, the warmth of her lips pressed to his, and he angles his head to kiss her harder, deeper, wanting more. Kara makes a noise, sexy and desperate from the back of her throat, and he swallows it greedily, pride and relief filling him. Sliding a hand into her hair, fingers threading through the silky strands, Lee traces the contours of her mouth, memorizing the feel of her. He sucks her lower lip between his, teeth scraping gently against the tender flesh and feels Kara shiver under his hands.

 Her hands drift down to his shoulders, and Kara pulls back, tilting her forehead to his and panting against his mouth. Lee's heart is racing, his entire body on fire, as he gasps for breath too. They stand there, frozen until their breathing slows, then Kara lifts her head. She unwinds the scarf from her hand and slides it around his neck, fingers smoothing the length of the wool against his jacket. Then she raises her eyes to his again and says softly, "Merry Christmas, Lee."

 Speechless, he watches her turn and walk away, back down the hall. Back to his brother.

His head is still full of the taste and the feel of her, and Lee wonders how he's supposed to make it through the next week. But it occurs to him as he leaves the building and heads across 34th street to his car that this might be the first Christmas wish he's ever had come true, and Lee smiles.

Maybe it really is a miracle.


End file.
